Shalgham and Professor Rajwan Al- Mayali , Dean of the Faculty of Archaeology at the University of Al- Qadisiyah , met with our Vice-Chancellor, Professor Karen O’Brien, and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Global), Professor Claire O’Malley. The delegation took part in a ’ World Heritage in Iraq ’ workshop, organised our Archaeology Department; had a tour of d’epartment’s laboratories and visited the Durham Castle and Cathedral World Heritage Site as well as the Arbeia Roman Fort South Shields.
Preserving World Heritage Sites for future generations
In 2023, Durham University signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Al-Qadisiyah University aimed at providing capacity building in heritage protection. As part of this collaboration, our Archaeology Department has provided training to Al-Qadisiyah staff and students in state-of-the art survey and laboratory techniques.Archaeologists from Durham University have also begun a new collaboration with the University of Al-Qadisiyah and the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage in Iraq focused on the Darb Zubaydah, one of the most important historical Hajj pilgrimage routes between Kufa, in southern Iraq, and Mecca. Remote sensing has revealed previously unidentified stations on the route and has resulted in an unexpected discovery. Together, the team has pinpointed the location of the Battle of al-Qadisiyah using historical texts and satellite images. The battle, which took place in 637/8 AD, was a crucial victory by the Arab Muslims in the expansion of Islam beyond Arabia. Until now its precise location was not clear.
Building on a long history of cultural preservation in the Middle East
Our world-leading Archaeology Department has a long and proud history of working with institutions across the Middle East to preserve cultural heritage sites, provide capacity-building, and undertake joint research activities. In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework, we achieved three 4* impact case studies , with two of them focusing on collaborative and co-designed cultural heritage protection and interventions. In the MENA region, Training in Action worked with regional heritage protection agencies in Libya and Tunisia to safeguard vulnerable heritage through capacity building and documentation.Over the last 10 years, the Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa ( EAMENA) Project, a partnership between the Universities of Durham, Leicester and Oxford, has been engaged in using satellite imagery and ground survey to monitor cultural heritage sites in the MENA region. We do this in collaboration with regional partners, as a response to a growing number of threats such as agricultural expansion, urban development, conflict, and natural disasters. In June 2024 the EAMENA 2 million from the Arcadia Fund to continue its work a further three years. In addition, we were awarded funding from the British Council’s Cultural Protection Fund to continue to deliver capacity-building activities in the MENA Region through to the end of 2024.
Our Department of Archaeology is ranked joint fifth in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024. Visit our Archaeology webpages Archaeologists from Durham University and University of Al-Qadisiyah in Iraq have pinpointed the location of a famous early Islamic battle using declassified spy satellite images.
The Palatine Centre
Durham University
Stockton Road
Durham
DH1 3LE
